


family tradition

by bloodandcream



Series: Ship all the Ships [134]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Domestic Fluff, Fruitcake, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 08:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8659342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodandcream/pseuds/bloodandcream
Summary: Dean was dead on his feet Thursday night, still baking and cleaning and baking in an endless cycle hours after the bakery had actually closed for the day. They weren’t used to doing so many pre-orders, and Dean had to say, even though it was good for business he preferred a slower work day where he could actually chat with regulars and eat his dinner sitting down instead of stealing bites between trays of cookies and brownies.





	

Dean was used to dealing with harried customers who made no sense around the holiday’s. It was the busiest time of year for the bakery, which was finally taking off after a prominent review in the local paper. He knew how to deal with huge order requests for parties, and people with allergies, and people who were just picky entitled assholes. But he had never once been asked for this.

“Do you sell fruitcakes?”

There was a line all the way to the door and Benny was bustling around between the counter and kitchen boxing up orders.

“Excuse me, fruitcake?”

“Yes, I need a fruitcake.”

“Wait, people actually eat those?”

The guy - tousled dark hair, blue eyes, unflattering trench-coat - squinted. “It’s…. more of a gag gift.”

“Oh, uh, do you need it today?”

“No, I need it by Friday. I can’t believe how hard it is to find a fruitcake.”

Dean snagged Benny by the arm as he brushed by in the narrow space with a box for a waiting customer.

“Hey, you ever make fruitcake?”

Benny frowned, “Nobody likes fruitcake, why would I make fruitcake?”

“It’s a … family tradition. Sort of.” The customer offered from the other side of the counter.

“I could make a fruitcake.” Benny didn’t sound too enthusiastic about it, mumbling as he moved to the other end of the counter to pass over whatever box of goodies he had.

Dean pulled a business card off the little stand by the register and passed a pen over to Blue Eyes. “Here, right down your name and number, we’ll hook you up with a fruitcake by Friday, okay.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

His handwriting was messy but legible, and Dean hated to try and move him along with just a vague answer, but the crowd was buzzing with impatience.

“No problem, buddy, have a good day.”

-

Dean was dead on his feet Thursday night, still baking and cleaning and baking in an endless cycle hours after the bakery had actually closed for the day. They weren’t used to doing so many pre-orders, and Dean had to say, even though it was good for business he preferred a slower work day where he could actually chat with regulars and eat his dinner sitting down instead of stealing bites between trays of cookies and brownies.

Benny was pretty ragged too, he had a dedication to the business that was admirable, but Dean knew when he was flagging. Benny stooped too much when his back would start to bother him, and damned if Dean’s hands weren’t aching from work but he could manage a massage before bed. They’d been too busy and tired to have sex for weeks, but handjobs were passable. If they didn’t fall asleep on each other halfway through. Like last night.

“Hey, you remember that fruitcake?”

Benny groaned as he leaned back against the stainless steel work island. “Shit, I tried a recipe for it yesterday and it actually came out alright, forgot to make another one today. Where’d I put that card…”

Dean knew where it was, the recipe hand-scrawled in Benny’s neat script on an index card and pinned to the cork board by the office. Swiping it, he passed it to Benny with a kiss.

“That should be it for the night, right?”

“Yeah, Miss Bower will be by early tomorrow for the brownies, but we can fridge the cookie dough for Allen and bake that later, he’s coming in the afternoon.”

“Sounds good, you get this done, I’ll start clean-up.”

A strong arm looped around Dean’s waist and Benny burrowed into his neck, beard soft and lips kissing a light trail up to his chin. “Thanks, cher.”

-

“The fruitcake actually ain’t half bad, if you don’t let it get stale,” Benny told their special order customer as he passed the goods over the next day.

“It’s definitely going to get stale,” the guy told them, giving Dean his credit card and smiling at the bakery’s cartoon cupcake logo. “We’ve been re-gifting the same fruitcake in our family for the past twelve years, but I managed to loose it in a move this year. I’m not sure if they’ll even recognize it’s a different fruitcake.”

Benny huffed and shuffled back to the kitchen with a grouchy, “Damn waste of baked goods.”

Yeah, he wasn’t as good with the customer service as Dean, that’s why Dean manned the counter.

“Your secret’s safe with us,” Dean told him with a wink, sliding the receipt over to sign. “I’m curious how that got started, though.”

“I don’t even remember at this point. Thank you for making this special.”

“It’s no problem man, you have a good holiday.”

“You too.”

Taking back the signed receipt as the guy left, Dean noticed a fifty dollar tip on it and goggled. He never thought a fruitcake would make him smile. At the bottom was a handwritten note, ‘You guys are life savers thank you!!!’, so Dean tucked the receipt in his jeans to make sure and show Benny later. Dean always kept the best receipt notes and passed along the praise. Benny had a soft smile for those quiet moments that still made Dean’s heart melt after all these years.


End file.
